Hope it Gives You Hell
by Anexie
Summary: The Lorax thinks about the Onceler, his actions, and if the young man will ever realise the damage he's wrought. No romance.


For Kuri, because this fic was her idea.  
(Her tumblr - kuri3sari)

* * *

The Lorax hardly ever saw the Onceler any more. This was because of two reasons: the businessman hardly ever ventured outside - unless it was for a brisk walk to a waiting automobile and chauffeur – and because the Lorax had been prohibited from entering the factory. Not that he wanted to. It made him sick just to look at the _outside_ of the building; oversized metal cogs turning relentlessly, glinting in the dim floodlights as thneed after thneed was churned out and trundled away into the smog.

The Lorax only ever caught glimpses of the lanky figure at night, silhouetted against the bright orange lights of the Onceler's main office. He was always either sat down in an outrageously oversized chair, or pacing back and forth animatedly.

_'And you're still probably working at a nine-to-five pace.'_

Once, the forest guardian had settled himself in the dry earth just outside the factory and watched the man work. He'd kept going well into the night and into the early hours of the next morning. Although he knew it was self-inflicted, the Lorax couldn't help feeling sorry for the idiot's lack of sleep.  
_  
'I wonder how bad that tastes?'  
_  
Although sympathy was only one of the feelings the Lorax had towards the Onceler. He was annoyed that the idiot had been so easily swayed to break his promise. And frustrated too, since the magical creature wasn't allowed anywhere near the businessman and so he couldn't do anything to try and persuade the man to take less... _destructive_ methods of production.

Surely the boy wasn't so ignorant as to completely disregard the suffering he was placing upon the wildlife of what used to be a thriving forest? Yet that Onceler showed no signs of guilt or regret for what he was causing to happen to his environment, despite the fact that unless he relocated his factory, it was completely un-ignorable. In rare moments, the Lorax felt almost _angry _at the seemingly-selfish young man, his teeth grinding and stomach churning as he wished he could go in there and give the boy what for.

_'When you see my face,  
I hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell.'_

In foresight, maybe this was the reason he'd been banned from entering the factory. The Onceler knew that the sight of the bright creature would only remind him of his shameful deceit.

_'When you look my way, _  
_I hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell.'_

Though he missed him dearly. They all did. All of the animals – the Barbaloots especially – missed seeing the young man prance around in his hastily-erected tent, devising adventurous cooking experiments, or venturing outside to knit pleasantly in the sunshine. The Lorax even missed the times when Onceler would completely show off on his battered guitar, setting the other, younger animals' mouths agape at his talents. But he didn't need that guitar any more. He had a new one. An expensive, double necked one from what some of the younger animals had seen when they'd dared to sneak into the factory office to say 'hello'. They'd not been booted out like he, the Lorax would have been; but still they were shooed out by a vaguely irritated Onceler, who'd shown them little of the kindness he used to save especially for his friends.

_'And truth be told, I miss you.'  
_  
It had shocked everything living in the Truffula Valley to see the optimistic, slightly naïve boy turn into this stressed, unforgiving young man who reeked of self-importance. In the Lorax's opinion, the complete metamorphosis had not been natural, in any way – it was hard to believe that the Onceler was still the same person.

_'And truth be told, I'm lying.'_

And so the forest guardian wished that, somehow, the other animals had not have been able to witness the past Onceler. Because it made accepting his mistreating them even harder. He wished that he could erase their memories of him somehow, make them not able to keep missing him, yearning for the young man that took no notice of them any more.

_'Tomorrow you'll be thinking to yourself,  
Where did it all go wrong?'_

Indeed, the Onceler's pride and arrogance would be his downfall, and you didn't have to be a magical forest guardian to see that. Day after day the Lorax watched from the sidelines as the man stubbornly refused to acknowledge that the number of trees was rapidly diminishing – in fact, he seemed to think there was an endless supply of material for his invention. He supposed that _money_ had been the main cause of this apparent ignorance; he'd seen it many times before in other humans, and although he'd hoped that this one would be different, well... obviously not.

* * *

The Lorax knew the day would come, eventually. It was the waiting that was the hardest part. And then, on the doomed day, he snuck into and paid his own little visit to the factory.

From the Onceler's office, there was a wide view of the valley, in all it's ruin, and the furry creature stared out at the miles and miles of stunted tree trunks and vanquished meadows disbelievingly. Even when it was under his very nose, Onceler had not been able to see it. Which was why, when the young man finally entered the office, the Lorax was surprised that he'd even noticed him sitting sadly by the window.

_'Now you'll never see what you've done to me,  
You can take back your memories, they're no good to me.'_

As soon as they started conversing, tension levels accelerated, and it did not take long for the man to be yelling at him. He already knew that Onceler had a short temper, but this... this was not the young man that had set out one day to pursue his dream. _That _person was _long_ gone.

Accusing eyes, hunched figure and insulting sarcasm made the Lorax back out of the office, down the stairs by which he'd climbed to come in. But of course, all of that stopped when the last tree was finally felled.

The magical creature watched mournfully as Onceler shrank back and looked around him as if seeing for the first time. It was a shock to see that guilt still resided in the man. Though, deep down, Lorax knew that it did; had always known that Onceler would try and ask his forgiveness at the end of it all. He was only human, after all, and all humans feel regret no matter how much they try to suppress it.

_'And here's all your lies,  
You can't look me in the eyes.'_

But the time for apologies and redemption had passed, long ago. The proud, idiot had dug himself in far too deep, yet still wanted the Lorax's hand in helping him get out.

_'With that sad, sad look that you wear so well.'_

It was the last thing Lorax saw as he lifted away. The Onceler's desperate, anguished face. Though it was not pleasing, to see the man finally realise what he'd done. In fact, abandoning the poor boy, even after all he'd done, was the hardest thing the guardian of the forest had ever had to do.

_'You're the fool,  
I'm just as well,  
Hope it gives you hell.'_

If the Onceler reflected on his doings, wallowed in his guilt – yes, it would make him suffer, but, given the amount of suffering he himself had inflicted, the Lorax deemed it worthy. And maybe, just maybe, through the pain, the man might be strong enough to see the light that would show him the way to redeem his actions. Though, judging by how helpless the young man seemed at present, it could take a while.

But the Lorax left him the last Truffula seed, just in case.


End file.
